Seaholm Teacher Finds Racial Slur in Her Mailbox; School Responds

administrators are investigating after an African American teacher received an anonymous racial slur in her mailbox last week.

The incident Thursday afternoon came on the heels of . According to Birmingham's community relations director, Marcia Wilkinson, the graffiti was geared against African Americans.

In a note sent to parents Monday morning, principal Terry Piper said the school is investigating the situation.

“We all agree that racial slurs and threats are not at all representative of the Seaholm community,” Piper said. “It is disheartening that the acts of a small number of students can cause such a negative perception of our school.”

Birmingham Superintendent David Larson said Seaholm teachers were asked to come in for a meeting early Monday morning to discuss the incident, which was reported to district administrators late Friday.

"The staff is very offended," he said. "This is definitely a blow to their whole community and morale."

Larson said he's spoken with the teacher at hand, a woman, noting she told him she felt supported by the entire Seaholm community. Piper agreed. "She's doing better than anyone else," he said. "She completely disregarded (the note) and tossed it in the wastebasket."

Wilkinson said Monday the district will not be releasing the name of the teacher involved unless she expressly gives them permission to do so. "She feels the situation has been handled correctly," Wilkinson said.

Larson said administrators assume the person behind the incident is a student, though they're rigorously investigating all angles. "I'm monitoring the situation carefully," he said.

According to Piper, Seaholm is planning at least one activity this week to address the situation with the student body. The school will also be meeting with representatives from the African American Family Network and the PTSA at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Seaholm media center to explain what happened and about the ongoing investigation.

"This will be an opportunity to process and dialogue the event," Larson said.